The present invention relates to the field of lawn mowers, and more particularly, to hinge systems for interconnecting articulating lawn mower decks.
To decrease the amount of time needed for cutting large areas of grass, mowers with multiple blades providing greatly increased cutting widths were designed. But because the world of grass is not flat, the cut was usually uneven and patches of grass were often scalped. Mounting the blades in individual mower decks and articulating the decksxe2x80x94that is, hingedly connecting the decks to one anotherxe2x80x94permitted the multiple deck mower to more closely follow the contour of the grass being cut. Over time, and especially in commercial applications of such articulating deck mowers, such as on golf courses, the constant articulation caused the hinge pins connecting adjacent decks to wear down. Replacement of the pins can be a time consuming, multi-step process, requiring the decks to be disassembled.
What is needed is a hinge system that resists wear and facilitates servicing and replacement.
Generally speaking, a hinge system is provided that resists wear and facilitates servicing and replacement. The hinge system include a front and a rear hinge assembly that hingedly connects a first mower deck to a second mower deck or a first mower deck to a portion of the mower that is not a mower deck.
A hinge assembly hingedly connects a first mower frame member defining a first frame hole to a second mower frame member defining a second frame hole, wherein at least one of the first and second frame members is a frame member of a mower deck of the mower. The hinge assembly comprises a first bushing having a first bushing hole and a first bushing axis, being sized for press fit receipt in the first frame hole, and being sized to rotatably coaxially receive a pin therein; a second bushing having a second bushing hole and a second bushing axis, being sized for axially non-rotating receipt in the second frame hole, and being sized to rotatably coaxially receive a pin therein; a pin having inboard and outboard ends and a pin axis, the pin sized to extend coaxially through the first and second bushing holes; a connector connected to the outboard end of the pin and for connecting the pin to the second frame member and holding the pin against horizontal movement relative to the second frame member and for providing a stop for limiting movement of the second bushing toward the outboard end of the pin; and, a retention member connected proximal to the inboard end of the pin and limiting movement of the bushings inwardly of the retention member.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved hinge system for articulating mower decks.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment.